Phoenix – Former Congressman and Republican gubernatorial candidate Matt Salmon on Saturday participated in a candidate debate in Tucson hosted by Arizona Debates.
Salmon spoke about his plan to eliminate Arizona’s state income tax and why it’s so important for Republicans to choose a nominee with a proven conservative record as our next governor. He also discussed revelations about foreign companies exploiting the state’s water laws and how he’ll advance smart water policies through an Arizona First lens.
You can read relevant excerpts from the debate below:
Matt Salmon On Securing Arizona’s Water Future:
“We need a governor that’s willing to stand up and call it like he sees it … We have foreign entities from different countries – Saudi Arabia, China – coming in and purchasing agricultural land, digging deep wells. We need to stop that from happening in our state. We’ve got to stop it dead in its tracks … We need a governor that actually knows how to do this.”
Matt Salmon On Eliminating Arizona’s Income Tax:
“My least favorite amendment to the Constitution was the income tax … I want to get rid of Arizona’s income tax. I honestly believe that, if we do that, we will stop being a flyover state for Texas and Florida that don’t have an income tax … I’m a believer that low taxes are the best thing possible, because I don’t believe that government is the answer to our problems. I believe that government is the problem.”
Matt Salmon On His Proven Conservative Record:
“Unlike others [in this race], I don’t change my positions. I’ve been a fiscal conservative, a staunch conservative, a social conservative all my life – and I’ve been fighting in the trenches. I’ve been a precinct committeeman for 35 years … You can’t afford to hope and pray that the person that’s telling you that they’re a ‘new person’ and they’re going to do something different, that they’re really going to do it … That’s what I promise to you.”
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